Weaving in and out of desks, I head over to mine, waving and saying a few hellos as I pass. Ambrose is at his desk now, right across from mine. He sits up, tracking my movement as I pull out my chair to sit down.
Percy pops out from under my desk, causing Ambrose to jump and let out a curse. I snicker as I rub between his ears. Now that our bond is complete, it’s easy to sense when he’s close.
“You’re finally back.” Ambrose abandons his workstation, crossing the aisle to join me.
“Not for long. I’m taking a few days off.”
Ambrose meets my eyes. “Willingly? I figured you’d fight tooth and nail after hearing Lewis’ plan.”
I pull out my desk drawer to see my phone lying on top of other miscellaneous office supplies and snacks.
“You never want to take time off,” Ambrose continues when I don’t respond right away.
“Sometimes I do.” I’m feeling defensive, even though I know he’s speaking the truth. I’m always the one who volunteers when people want time off or when something comes up and they can’t work.
Ambrose crosses his arms over his chest and looks down at me.
“It’s been a crazy few weeks,” I mumble while placing my phone in my pocket.
“Is your dad going to the safe house?” He changes topics, thankfully.
“Yeah, Lewis is getting him and Ms. Miller set up.”
“You’re welcome to stay with me. My building has good wards,” he offers. It’s not exactly surprising, but it is unexpected, especially since he seemed to understand there was stuff going on with the guys and me.
“Uh…”
Oh, finally, maybe the day isn’t lost after all. Call Grayson, he’ll snap this one’s neck.Percy sits up on his hind legs and chitters.
“Percy,” I scold.
What? If your mates had a lick of intelligence, they would have gotten rid of him when he first showed up. You have far better chances of breeding with the other three anyway, even if they don’t feed you enough.
“Thank you for the offer, but I’m good,” I tell Ambrose while ignoring how bloodthirsty my mink is.
“Not to be an ass, but your building doesn’t have shit for security. You shouldn’t stay there.”
“I put up some of my own wards, but I’m not staying there anyway. I’m going back to Hill Crest.”
I feel like this is the information he was fishing for, but the way his face falls makes me think he might not have been expecting it.
“You grew up with them, huh?” he asks, but his tone is so different, softer and a little sad.
“Yeah.”
“You never really talked about why you left home and didn’t go back. I’m assuming they had something to do with it.”
“It’s complicated.” This isn’t the first time I’ve used that as a description for our relationship.
“But you’re still going back there?” Ambrose gives me a flat smile, one that doesn’t reach his eyes. I feel like he’s judging me.
I push my chair back so I can stand up. “I am going back,” I admit.
Ambrose steps away from my desk, giving me more space. “Maybe this time when you come back, you’ll actually leave the past behind you,” he says before turning and walking away from me.
“Doubtful,” I mutter under my breath. We may still have some things to work through, but I’m not walking away from the guys this time. More importantly, I don’t think they would let me if I tried. I’m confident they would fight for us now too.
I’m going to tell Grayson he offered his den to you,Percy comments as if it’s the ultimate sin.
